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This is a preliminary look at some microscopic features of sample #10 labeled as "Liberty capish" Pointer is 8.4 microns wide.

I decided to start with this particular sample because it was large and the bluing on the stem was particularly visible. The gills are brown with a whitish fringe, the spores are large at 16+ microns in length and brown. The sterigmata are very long and darkly colored like the spores. Due to the poor quality of the sample preparation, the number of spores per basidium is unknown but assumed to be 4.

This sample was not properly rehydrated nor sliced in a manner to enhance the visibility of the microscopic features. A dry gill was merely ripped from mushroom and place on a slide with a drop of water and a cover slip. A better photo study will be done in the near future. Spores of this sample were also placed on agar for a cultivation attempt.

This preliminary observation rules out the genus Psilocybe but does not rule out the possibility of an active Conocybe. The large spore size does rule out the known active Conocybes, C. cyanopus and C. smithii which both have spores under 9 micrometers in length. I have no data on C. siligineoides but that species purportedly grows on wood. Conocybe tenera has large spores up to 14 microns in length but the stem is supposed to be fragile and these seem fairly tough (dry) and no mention is made of bluing at the stem base.

More features will need to be observed to confirm or rule out the genus Conocybe such as the cap cuticle. I am not as familiar with this genus and it may take me awhile to get a handle on this specimen. But the bluing is interesting.

Might be a good specimen to try getting the dry tissue to grow. I've pulled out two year old dried mushrooms and coaxed them into coming back. Bear in mind, other non-active species blue as well. Good luck.RR

Sorry about sending so many. Didn't mean to over do it, just over enthusiastic I quess. Looks very interesting though. EonTan --I'm sorry I forgot about your interest in those others. If you are still interested I can rectify that.

I've been finding these recently (at least I think they are the same) here in Northern Virginia. I've found them in at least 4 distinct locations over the last 3 months. Here are some pictures from a recent find.Some displaid slight blueing, others nothing discernable. You can see some on the pin in the above pic.

Grown on grass seed with a small amount of horse manure added. Standard peat/calcium carbonate casing. Blues dramatically when the mushrooms abort. I am still not certain exactly what it is but it does appear to be Psilocybin active. Image on the right shows blue sclerotial like bodies growing on grass seed.

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